Pan American Sports Games

Pan American Sports Games, also called Pan American Games, Spanish Juegos Deportivos Panamericanos or Juegos Panamericanos, quadrennial sports event for countries of the Western Hemisphere, patterned after the Olympic Games and sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee. The games are conducted by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), or Organización Deportiva Panamericana (ODEPA), headquartered in Mexico City.

Frank Caldeira finishing first in the marathon at the Pan American Sports Games, Rio de Janeiro, 2007.Wilson Dias/ABr

Opening ceremony of the Pan American Sports Games, Rio de Janeiro, 2007.Ricardo Stuckert/PR/ABr

The Pan American Games had their inception at a meeting of the Pan American Congress in Buenos Aires in 1940, attended by representatives of the national Olympic committees of 16 countries. Because of World War II, the games scheduled to be held in 1942 were not held until 1951. The first games were held in Argentina, where 2,000 athletes represented 20 Western Hemisphere nations in a program of 19 sports. By 1991, when the games were held in Havana, Cuba, the number of sports had expanded to include archery, athletics (track-and-field events), baseball, basketball, bowling, boxing, canoe/kayak events, cycling, diving, equestrian events, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, judo, roller skating, rowing, shooting, soccer (football), softball, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, tae kwon do, team handball, tennis, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling, and yachting.

Football (soccer) match between Argentina and Brazil, Pan American Sports Games, 2007.Wilson Dias/ABr